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MAELSTROM
Definition of MAELSTROM
noun
A large and violent whirlpool.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
The word was originally the name of a giant whirlpool off Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, likely the actual tidal pool system of Moskstraumen in Lofoten. It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
2nd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
14.2%
of traced words share this origin (12,230)
How it is built
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
MAELSTROM in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far. 26 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 166, 2 November 2026. The most recent board was Day 172, 8 November 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 4 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 166, 2 November 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
MAELSTROM starts with M and ends with M. Sorted, its letters read AELMMORST - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. M appears more than once.
Words that start MAELST
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found MAELSTROM?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 166 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER